Author
Topic: Vienna Lager fermentation question (Read 3972 times)

I've got a nice batch of lager currently bubbling away in primary, and I had a few questions as it is my first lager.

- It is an extract kit, the More Beer Vienna kit, however I steeped about a pound of chocolate malt before adding in the syrup from the kit. I was hoping that would add a nutty flavor profile and a bit more color. Am I right?

- I used white labs Southern German Lager yeast as my yeast. Pitched at about 64 degrees and brought it down in my fridge to an ambient temp of 50 degrees. It has been bubbling nicely since the evening of the 7th of Sept. I pulled a bit of beer and did a gravity reading, and it is about 1.020. It started at 1.040. Is this normal?

- I read on a web site that lagers for homebrewers should go through a small period of temperature increase before racking the beer. Is this a good idea?

- I did 1 oz of Czech Saaz during the boil, and was supposed (according to the kit) to add in .5 oz during the last 1 minute for aroma. I forgot to do the aroma hops. What could I expect to get if I did that .5 oz or even 1 oz as a dry hopping in the keg? That is what dry hopping is right? Is that bad to do with pellets (in a bag of course)?

- When I do rack the beer to the secondary (keg) the temperature needs to be much lower than primary ferm temp right? What sort of temperature range am I looking at here, and what is the effect that it will have on the finished product if the temp is lower or higher?

I appreciate any feedback, or even just links to good guides. I have read up a bit, but I wanted to ask before I did something that might mess up the brew.

I hope it wasn't a whole pound of chocolate malt.That would be more of a porter.

A diacentyl rest is a good idea and even more so because you pitched so warm. Pitching plenty of yeast colder than fermentation is a better method. Even when pitching cold a diacetyl rest is a good idea but less necessary.

I just toss dry hops in, others use bags and even tea balls. I use a secondary but you can just do it in the keg.

Rack when it is at FG and the diacetyl rest is over. Keep it cold for a number of weeks before serving.

That pound of chocolate malt has no longer made it a vienna lager. It'll be a completly different beer. It's closer to a lager porter as mentioned above. Zero dark roasted malts are used in a vienna lager. This beer will be dark brown and roasty.

It started at 1.040 right? Primary fermentation rule of thumb is 1 day of fermenting for every 4 gravity points. 40/4=10 days. It should complete primary fermentation after 10 days. Waiting 14 days is probably better and wont hurt anything . 45 degrees is about right.

Next is the diacetyl rest. For a diacetyl rest, bring the beer out of the fridge for 2.5-3 days at room temp or adjust your temp comtroller if possible. This is the temp increase you read about. Basically , let it warm up and have a good full day at room temperature (60-75 degrees).

Next comes the lagering phase. Rack it to another carboy or the keg. It is common to do this secondary fermentation colder. Lager means to store cold. You should lager for another 14 days before serving. 30 days is fine too. Lager between 35-45 degrees. It will be fairly to very cloudy. The lagering will clear it up.

The added chocolate will probably cover up some of the lager notes, but it should be a smooth roasty beer. Remember that the chocolate malt will probably add 4-5 points on your final gravity in a 5 gallon batch. So if the kit says a final gravity of 1.010, you'll probably only reach 1.014. Make sense?If you want to add the dry hops, add them 2 days before the diacetyl rest. It's not necessary now though. Not in the keg.

Yes, but Carafa Special is dehusked and thus does not impart the highly bitter/acrid flavors you'd expect from black patent, etc. People often use an ounce or two to add color without much, if any flavor contribution.

When used for this purpose, I prefer late mash addition when using Carafa Special nowadays, but I think the OP is steeping (?)

« Last Edit: September 14, 2010, 07:46:06 PM by blatz »

Logged

The happiest people don’t necessarily have the best of everything; they just make the best of everything they have.

I wasn't aware that there was such a thing as a Lager Porter. That's good to know. Are there any commercial examples?

Also, for future reference: If I did decide to brew from that kit again, and just wanted to darken it just a little bit, and add a little nuttiness, what are my options for a 5 gallon batch if I wanted to be true to the style?

Yengling Porter is made with a lager yeast. It also seems like it has a 1.040 SG.

I'm pretty sure that Yuengling Porter is about 5% ABV. They use a very clean proprietary yeast and ferment at about 61F. I think it's an ale yeast, but there's a fine line there and it produces very little in the way of esters.Other lager porters include most of the group of Baltic Porters.Also, Schwartzbier is a black German lager with a little roast character.But, Vienna lagers shouldn't have any roast flavor. A pound of chocolate makes it something else. Hopefully something good.

Logged

Jeff Gladish, Tampa (989.3, 175.1 Apparent Rennarian)Homebrewing since 1990AHA member since 1991, now a lifetime member BJCP judge since 1995

The reason I asked was because I don't necessarily agree with that statement. I use just a little chocolate in mine and I see black malt in a lot of recipes. Definitely not a pound, though.

Its your beer but roasted flavors would technically be inappropriate in a Vienna lager. That said, others might prefer the beer with a touch of choc. malt. For me, if I wanted to make it darker I would probably add Carafa Special, huskless malt.

I'm sure they are good beers but I would personally recommend using 100% vienna (maybe a little pils for the enzymes, or maybe a blend of Vienna and Munich) and, if you want to darken the color, use a little carafa special (which is a roasted malt but has its husk removed). That would be more with traditional Vienna lager.

That said, I would never argue with someone if they liked their Vienna lager better with chocolate or black malt in the recipe.